Daily Project Homeless Connect gets underway

The 49-year-old was one of the first people to take advantage of San Francisco’s new Every Day Connect, a smaller, daily version of the popular Project Homeless Connect which allows homeless people to access a host of services at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium every other month.

Chedister walked into Project Homeless Connect’s offices on Van Ness Avenue unable to see well enough to play his beloved guitar or watch his favorite TV programs. He walked out with brand new black-rimmed glasses and a sturdy case to protect them.

“I picked black for a reason, it’s sentimental,” he said. “Black’s what I had before.”

Somebody stole his previous pair a couple of years ago, and Chedister has been without glasses ever since, his eyesight deteriorating because of it. He and his partner, 58-year-old Rita Tonucci, gave up years ago on waiting in the long line to access services at the regular Project Homeless Connect because it’s so long and the people are so competitive.

But the couple, who live in public housing in the Tenderloin, asked a Project Homeless Connect staff member a few weeks ago for help securing Chedister’s new glasses. An optometrist in Chinatown, one of 20,000 volunteers registered to help with Project Homeless Connect, agreed to see Chedister in his office and fit him for new glasses. On Monday, they were ready.

Kara Zordel, director of Project Homeless Connect, said several people had visited the office on its first official day and even more had called its hotline to ask for services. She asked Chedister and Tonucci what else they’d like help with, and they said they’d like a Thanksgiving turkey and access to mental health treatment.

“The only way we can make change is if we know what’s necessary,” Zordel said, promising she’d see what she could do on both counts. “We’re here for you every day.”

Every Day Connect’s hotline is (855) 588-7968. To donate, visit www.projecthomelessconnect.com. Staff will be available for in-person visits at 25 Van Ness Ave. from 8:30 a.m. -5:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday and via phone calls from 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m. those days. On Fridays, they’re available in person or on the phone from 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m. On weekends and holidays, they’re available by hotline only from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.